Carl Jung on the Major Arcana

As an update to my earlier post on Carl Jung and Tarot, I just received a paper from the Jung Institute library in New York. It contains brief notes Hanni Binder took of Jung’s descriptions, in German, when he spoke to her about the Tarot cards. A friend of hers made a literal translation into English, typing it onto large file cards. What follows is Jung’s verbal description of the Major Arcana. They are based on cards from the Grimaud Tarot de Marseille, which he felt most closely contained properties he recognized from his reading of alchemical texts. I have corrected obvious errors in language, but kept these changes to a minimum. My own comments are in brackets [ ].

If you are familiar with Jung’s core concepts you’ll find several of them referred to directly or indirectly: Self, Shadow, extraversion, intraversion, conscious, unconscious, fate, center, inflation, compensation, sacrifice, etc. Notice also his interest in what’s held in the right and left hands as indications of masculine/active or feminine/passive (I prefer ‘receptive’) energies. These notes are simplistic but were obviously only meant to be a starting place for further exploration.

ADDED: Japanese tarotist, Kenji, discovered that Jung’s descriptive text comes almost directly from Papus’ Tarot of the Bohemians (thank you, Kenji). However, Jung seems to have added several keywords from his own psychological lexicon as I noted above. Comparing these two texts will clarify what ideas Jung added.

1 The Magician

The Magician has, in the right hand, a golden ball, in the left a stick [wand]. The hat makes an eight [infinity sign]. The bearing of the hand shows right activity, left passivity. Sign of force, stability, self. He has all the symbols before him.

2 The High Priestess

Sitting Priestess. She wears a veil. On her knees is a book. This book is open. She stands in connection with the moon. Occult wisdom. Passive, eternal woman.

3 The Empress

Empress with wings. In the right hand she has an eagle, in the left a scepter. She has a crown with 12 stones. Eagle as a symbol of soul and life. Feminine activity. Fruitfulness, goddess.

4 The Emperor

Emperor sitting in profile. In the right hand he is holding the scepter. He wears a helmet with 12 stones. The legs are crossed. Will, force, reality, duty, brightness.

5 The Hierophant

The Hierophant leans on a three fax[sic – triple?] cross. The two columns are standing on the right as law, on the left liberty. Two men are kneeling before him: one is red, the other black. Will, religion, fate [faith?], Self, center.

6 The Lovers

The young man stands in a corner where two streets come together. The woman on the right has a golden garland on her head. The woman on the left is wreathed with a vine. Beauty, cross-road, way inward or outward.

7 The Chariot

Conqueror with coronet. He has three angle [right angles on his cuirass]. In his hand is a scepter. Arrow and weapon arm [right hand?]. Actively going toward his fate. He has a goal, achieving victory. Activity, extraversion. Inflation.

8 Justice

Sitting woman with a coronet. In the right hand she has a sword, in the left, a balance [scales]. Compensation between nature and the force of a man. Justice, compensation. Conflict with the law.

9 The Hermit

An old man walks with a stick [staff]. Wisdom as symbolized by the lamp. Protection with the overcoat. Cleverness, love, introversion. Wisdom.

10 Wheel of Fortune

Sphinx holding a sword. Wheel symbolizing endlessness. Finger as a sign of command. Human being as ball [circumference?] of the wheel of fortune. Luck/misfortune.

11 Strength

A young girl opens the mouth of a lion. The girl has the sign of vitality on her hat. Liberty, strength.

12 The Hanged Man

The hands of this man on in back. The eyes are open. The right leg is crossed. On the right and left a trunk of a tree. Turning back [enantiodromia?], powerless, sacrifice, test, proof. Face against the sky.

13 Death

A skeleton in a field with heads and fingers. Death and regeneration. The Ego should not take [the] place, the Self has to take [the] place. New standpoint, liberation, end.

14 Temperance

Young girl pours water from one jug in the other. The sun gives the liquid of life from a golden in[to] a silver jug. Movement, consciousness, natural growth.

15 The Devil

The right hand of the Devil is raised to the sky, the left points to the earth. Two persons are under him. He holds the torch as a sign of black magic. Fate, Shadow, emotion.

16 The Tower

Burning tower. Hospital, prison, struck by lightning. Sacrifice.

17 The Star

A naked woman spills water from two jugs. Around the girl are seven stars. The Self shines, stars of fate, night, dreams. Hope. The Self is born in the stars. Union with the eternal.

18 The Moon

In the middle of a field is a dog and a wolf. A crayfish comes out of the water. It is night. The door to the unconscious is open. The crayfish likes to go the shore. The light is indirect.

19 The Sun

Two naked girls. The sun shines on the children. Drops of gold fall on the earth. The Self is ruling the situation. Consciousness. Enlightenment.

20 Judgement

An angel with fiery wings, an open grave in the earth. Birth of the Self. Inspiration, liberation.

21 The World

Naked woman, her legs are crossed. In the four corners we have the angel, the lion, the bull and the eagle. Completion, finishing. In the world but not from the world.

0 The Fool

A man who doesn’t take care on his way. Beginning and end. The fool has no home in this world; the home is in heaven. Dreamer, mystic side.

Masculine cards:

Wands = Libido [sexual drive]
Swords = Spiritual force

Feminine cards:

Pentacles = Material
Cups = Feeling

Added note on the Four Suits: Jung obviously failed to link the four suits to his four psychological types or functions, based on the quaternity of elements and humors. However, with the “Feminine” suits he came close, calling Cups Feeling, while Pentacles as Material is close to Sensation. Most people link Intuition with Wands and Thinking with Swords. Jung’s most succinct explanation of his psychological types can be found in Man and His Symbols (highly recommended reading for anyone interested in a Jungian approach to tarot):

Sensation tells you that something exists (through the senses).

Thinking tells you what it is (its definition).

Feeling tells you whether it is agreeable or not (its value).

Intuition tells you whence it comes and where it is going (its possibilities).

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Mary K. Greer has made tarot her life work. Check here for reports of goings-on in the world of tarot and cartomancy, articles on the history and practice of tarot, and materials on other cartomancy decks. Sorry, I no longer write reviews. Contact me HERE.

31 comments

Hi Mary,
Just stumbled on your really wonderful and informative blog! The Carl Jung persepective is really interesting. I have been interested in his work for some time, specifically dream analysis and interpretation, so it’s interesting to see some Jung related tarot!
I have just got my first set of Tarot. So am at the point, I usually get to (!) of digesting all I can! I have read Runes for a few years now and made my own set last year – quit rewarding.
I had never been interested in Tarot until a couple of weeks ago – they called to me and I just had to look into it.
So lovely to see your blog!
I am going to have to link you so I can stop by often!

Melanie –
I hope you enjoy your tarot journey. A Jungian approach to tarot is clearly optional, but I find it an exciting way of relating to the cards. You are lucky to get involved in the tarot at a point when there are so many wonderful resources available for free on the web. I also recommend live classes in that learning by seeing and by example is one of the quickest ways to get comfortable with the cards. And it gives you others to practice with and share your enthusiasm. You might want to check out the tarot forum at Aeclectic.net.

Hi Mary,
Thanks for that – Yes I am already enjoying the journey. I have worked with Runes for a few years now and they constantly provide me with guidance, clarity and understanding. They have helped me through some difficult times too – helping me find the strength and focus needed!
I can see some correlation with Tarot already, and the Jungian approach fascinates me. I have often felt that the Runes help me in some way tap into the unconcious, helping me to find what I aready know but that lays deep and hidden. I look forward to reading more about this and also getting more familiar with the Tarot!
Thanks for your wonderful blog! I shall look at that forum very soon.
Blessings
Melanie

I looked back over Jung’s Major Arcana text and listed all of Jung’s important psychological terms. Just by expanding on these terms and the cards he related them to, much more can be made from his brief notes.

What a wonderful experience to see all the interesting stuff. I heard that Yung used the tarot to help his patience in there seeking for indivuduation. I am so glad to learn more about his aproach on the Tarot and love to thankyou so much on this Mary.

How wonderful is that. I particularly enjoyed the notes on death – the “New standpoint” and his “door to the unconscious” opening in the Moon. I imagined him in looking at them one by one. (I love this blog). Sally.

I looked on the internet to see more about the subject on “Jung’s approach to the Tarot” and the Tarot. This was interesting to read. “Jung (1953/1977) treats dream symbolism on two separate levels: the objective level and the subjective level. The first level is analytic. On this level, the dream content can be broken up into memory-complexes that refer to external situations. The second level is synthetic. In these situations, the dream contents are detached from external causes and must be treated in terms of archetypal symbols.

Nichols (1984) says that “The pictures on the Tarot Trumps tell a symbolic story. Like our dreams, they come to us from a level beyond the reach of consciousness and far removed from our intellectual understanding” (p. 7). According to this view, the Tarot Trump cards can be interpreted in the same manner as Jungian dream analysis.

I am attending dream Jungian dream workshops and found this way of interpreting the Tarot very approachable.

[Note: I edited this to eliminate multiple repetitions of the same sentences. – mkg]

I just found a gift, a book somebody gave me in the summer and I had forgotten it in the car: “Perfect Tarot Divination through Astrology, Kabbalah, and the principles of Jungian Interpretation”, by Robert Wang.

Hi Mary
Wonderful material! Jung’s personal journal which he called his “Red Book” is being published in Oct. 2009 by Norton.

“Jung recorded it all. First taking notes in a series of small, black journals, he then expounded upon and analyzed his fantasies, writing in a regal, prophetic tone in the big red-leather book. The book detailed an unabashedly psychedelic voyage through his own mind, a vaguely Homeric progression of encounters with strange people taking place in a curious, shifting dreamscape. Writing in German, he filled 205 oversize pages with elaborate calligraphy and with richly hued, staggeringly detailed paintings.”

“He worked on his red book — and he called it just that, the Red Book — on and off for about 16 years, long after his personal crisis had passed, but he never managed to finish it. He actively fretted over it, wondering whether to have it published and face ridicule from his scientifically oriented peers or to put it in a drawer and forget it. Regarding the significance of what the book contained, however, Jung was unequivocal. “All my works, all my creative activity,” he would recall later, “has come from those initial fantasies and dreams.”http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/20/magazine/20jung-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

The question is: what, if any, tarot references will be found therein…

John –
Jung’s Red Book is now out and is an amazing publication—an exact replica of the pages of his journal, including his incredible artwork and beautiful calligraphy. The 2nd part of the book contains a translation from the German to English and extensive commentary. I’ve only looked at the book briefly and don’t believe there is any mention of tarot.

Re: The Red Book.
While there is no mention of Tarot, the work is filled with Tarot-like figures and can provide fascinating examples with insight into the Tarot archetypes as they function independently in the human psyche.

[…] told me something I didn’t know: Carl Jung studied the tarot quite a bit and interpreted the major aracana using his core concepts. Despite my initial fascination with the tarot as an occult object and […]

Thank you for this, though I always expected more from Jung regarding Tarot imagery. You may also be interested in “Sigmund Freud and the Jewish Mystical Tradition” by David Bakan. It is mentioned that one of Freud’s few recreations in 1897 that he permitted himself was at the B’nai B’rith lodge in Vienna where he enjoyed “his weekly game of taroc, a popular card game based on Kabbala”. (p48)

David –
Thank you for this reference. I’d heard elsewhere that Freud and others in his circle in Vienna used to play Taroc (Tarocchi, Tarot). Unfortunately the comment is marred by the author’s assumptions about it being a “game based on Kabbala”—it isn’t. This makes me want to question everything else the author says, as I wonder if he didn’t paint all of Freud’s experiences with a very imprecise and flimsy brush of esotericism. Taroc is a three or four-handed trick-taking game, much like Bridge or Whist, in which there is a permanent trump suit. It was origiinally played in the North Italian courts in the 15th century. Chances are Freud played with a later double-headed Tarot deck featuring village social scenes or animal figures on the trump cards.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tarot_card_games

The author actually should have stated that there are Tarot correlations between the Minor Arcana of the Tarot and the 10 Sephira of the Kabbalah; inquiry into these and practically everything else, began in the Italian Renaissance. I personally was not critical of the author as he delves deeply into Freud’s background history and context, no easy feat. He makes a thorough analysis of Freud, a major thinker and rebel in his time, against a (very enlightening, for me) history of Judaism. The author’s project is that is the only mention of Taroc, the rest are references to Kabbalah and psychoanalysis.
However, I understand your skepticism as I myself am also a “tough customer” when it comes to facts. Thanks for your reply!
DMV 🙂

I just stumbled upon your wonderful website blog while researching Jung’s words on Tarot. I am enriched and inspired by your wealth of knowledge and material on the subject. I am so sorry your series begins just before I am teaching my own 90 minute introductory webinar on April 1st entitled “The Fool’s Journey – Archetypal Patterns in Tarot on the Road to Individuation.” through the Depth Psychology Alliance. I have been studying Tarot for 35 years on the Tree of Life and Jung’s work dovetails beautifully with this system.

Oh Wow! I just found this Mary! I would love to do an exchange. Mine is only an introduction so far. It was recorded and is available on the Depth Psychology Alliance youtube channel or on their website of the same name.

Thank you! Let connect.
I am grateful to you for this vast depth of work on the subject and I would love to get your feedback on mine.

[…] to undertake their own Jungian investigations into parapsychology and the occult. Inspired by Jung’s verbal descriptions of the Tarot’s major arcana, artist and mystic Robert Wang has created a Jungian Tarot deck, and an accompanying trilogy of […]

[…] These beliefs made Jung feel that certain methods of divination were legitimately connected, not only to synchronicity, but also to the psyche. The I Ching is one example of a system that Jung thought exemplified synchronicity. Although he knew less about it, he felt similarly about Tarot. In addition to seeing Tarot as a tool that worked with synchronicity, in the cards Jung recognized many of the archetypes he’d defined. Writer and Tarot reader Mary K. Greer cites a speech Jung gave in 1933. Among other very interesting things he had to say, there is this: “These cards are…psychological images, symbols with which one plays, as the unconscious seems to play with its contents.” Jung goes on to tie in Tarot with his theories of archetypes and synchronicity, saying that the images on the cards “are sort of archetypal ideas, of a differentiated nature, which mingle with the ordinary constituents of the flow of the unconscious, and therefore it is applicable for an intuitive method that has the purpose of understanding the flow of life, possibly even predicting future events, at all events lending itself to the reading of the conditions of the present moment.” If you’re interested in reading exactly what Jung thought about each major arcana card, Greer’s site also has a great list. […]